The journey begins!

I’ve been in Lima for a little under a week now. I’m still in orientation, so we’ve been doing some touristy things as well as some logistics like getting cellphones and learning how to get to our university (I keep forgetting that I’ll actually be going to school here). There are 22 students on my program plus staff members and program “buddies” who attend our university and help introduce us to the university and Lima in general (plus, they’re great at telling us which slang we words were learned in orientation people actually use). The group with our program “buddies” in Miraflores, the area of Lima where most of us live.

The view from the nearby “Parque del Amor”

I’m living with a really nice host family in a beautiful house in Miraflores. I live with a host mom, a 17-year-old host sister, a 22-year-old host brother, a dog named Cha Cha, and a rabbit that is still afraid of me. As I’m writing I’m enjoying some Taylor Swift that my host sister is playing in another part of the house. My host mom often reminds me that I should feel like the house is mine, but it’s definitely an adjustment. It’s really cool to get to watch the news in the morning with my family and hear their perspective on current events, but I’m still working on trying to keep up with their fast conversations. Because it doesn’t get that cold in Lima, there are parts of the house that are open to the roof without a ceiling and outside doors that stay open even though it is winter. It’s a super cool layout.

With the program we’ve done some touristy things around Lima. Two days ago we went to the city center and saw some of the government buildings of Lima and other famous spots.

One of the many mini chapels in the Cathedral of Lima.

A picture from the catacombs. There were thousands and thousands of skeletons sorted and stored in a ton of different ways. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Before that visit I had no idea that I was so into skeletons. I don’t know how I feel about this new discovery about myself.

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3 comments

Michelle, I used a magnifying glass and found you in the picture of your group. It’s comforting to see all those people around you. So you’re into skeletons – how interesting. This blog business is great – I’ll be able to keep up with you on your adventure .It’s so nice to be able to do this and actually see what you’re doing.

Michelle, Emily forwarded me your blog so I could read about your adventures too! Sounds like a great family to be living with. That’s awesome and those skeletons are VERY cool. I, too, didn’t know I was into skeletons but that is pretty creepily fascinating.
xo